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    <title>ShellCheck: SC2276 – This is interpreted as a command name containing `=`. Bad assignment or comparison?</title>
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    <h1>SC2276 – ShellCheck Wiki</h1>
    <a href="https://github.com/koalaman/shellcheck/wiki/SC2276">See this page on GitHub</a>
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    <h2
id="this-is-interpreted-as-a-command-name-containing--bad-assignment-or-comparison">This
is interpreted as a command name containing <code>=</code>. Bad
assignment or comparison?</h2>
<h3 id="problematic-code">Problematic code:</h3>
<div class="sourceCode" id="cb1"><pre class="sourceCode sh"><code class="sourceCode bash"><span id="cb1-1"><a href="SC2276.html#cb1-1" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a><span class="st">&quot;</span><span class="va">$var</span><span class="st">&quot;</span><span class="ex">=42</span></span>
<span id="cb1-2"><a href="SC2276.html#cb1-2" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a><span class="cf">if</span> <span class="st">&quot;</span><span class="va">$var</span><span class="st">&quot;</span><span class="ex">=42</span></span>
<span id="cb1-3"><a href="SC2276.html#cb1-3" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a><span class="cf">then</span></span>
<span id="cb1-4"><a href="SC2276.html#cb1-4" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a>  <span class="fu">true</span></span>
<span id="cb1-5"><a href="SC2276.html#cb1-5" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a><span class="cf">fi</span></span></code></pre></div>
<h3 id="correct-code">Correct code:</h3>
<div class="sourceCode" id="cb2"><pre class="sourceCode sh"><code class="sourceCode bash"><span id="cb2-1"><a href="SC2276.html#cb2-1" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a><span class="va">var</span><span class="op">=</span>42</span>
<span id="cb2-2"><a href="SC2276.html#cb2-2" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a><span class="cf">if</span> <span class="bu">[</span> <span class="st">&quot;</span><span class="va">$var</span><span class="st">&quot;</span> <span class="ot">=</span> 42 <span class="bu">]</span></span>
<span id="cb2-3"><a href="SC2276.html#cb2-3" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a><span class="cf">then</span></span>
<span id="cb2-4"><a href="SC2276.html#cb2-4" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a>  <span class="fu">true</span></span>
<span id="cb2-5"><a href="SC2276.html#cb2-5" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"></a><span class="cf">fi</span></span></code></pre></div>
<h3 id="rationale">Rationale:</h3>
<p>ShellCheck found a command name containing an unquoted equals sign
<code>=</code>. This was likely intended as either a comparison or an
assignment.</p>
<p>To compare two values, use e.g. <code>[ "$var" = "42" ]</code></p>
<p>To assign a value, use e.g. <code>var="42"</code></p>
<h3 id="exceptions">Exceptions:</h3>
<p>None, though you can quote the <code>=</code> to make ShellCheck
ignore it: <code>"$var=42"</code>.</p>
<h3 id="related-resources">Related resources:</h3>
<ul>
<li>Help by adding links to BashFAQ, StackOverflow, man pages, POSIX,
etc!</li>
</ul>
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    <p style='font-size: 80%'><a href="../index.html">ShellCheck</a> is a static analysis tool for shell scripts. This page is part of its documentation.</p>
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